House Race Roundup

MN-03: New ad from Democrat Ashwin Madia:

AZ-03: Republican incumbent John Shadegg is in hot water with an 89-year-old World War II veteran.

Shadegg used a picture of himself with the veteran in question, Constantine O'Neill, taken at a veterans' event years before, implying that O'Neill was a Shadegg supporter.

He is not, and wrote a letter to Shadegg expressing his displeasure. Here is an excerpt from Shadegg's response:

"I'm deeply sorry it upset you but I can only suggest that perhaps you should not have attended the event if you did not wish to have your picture taken and would react so strongly." ...

"I do understand the concern expressed in your letter," explained Shadegg. "However I hope you understand that when you attend a public event people will take pictures and those pictures are theirs to use as they wish. The individual who took the picture had no idea who you are, or who any of the others in the picture are, until your letter arrived today. I had no way of contacting you and, as your letter notes, the picture was taken many years ago."

Sounds really apologetic.

Here's O'Neill's response:

"First Shadegg implied in his ad that we support him, and now he is attacking my husband and my family in what was supposed to be an apology. My husband was strong enough to live through a German prison camp, but this made him break down and cry. This is living proof of John Shadegg’s vile disrespect for our troops and veterans."

FL-25: Joe Garcia's internals have him picking up steam rapidly:

Hamilton Campaigns for Joe Garcia. 10/8-9. Likely voters. MoE 4.4% (7/7-13 numbers)

Diaz-Balart (R) 45 (55)
Garcia (D) 42 (33)

Very good trend lines, and a not-insurmountable three point gap. The trend lines also show excellent numbers for Obama - he now leads 47% to 43%, as opposed to a 49-40 deficit in July.

ID-01: Idaho's largest paper, the Statesman, endorsed Democrat Walt Minnick over Republican incumbent Bill "Absolute Idiot" Sali:

Bill Sali's command of the issues has matured over the past two years.

But Sali has not matured into the job of representing Idaho in Congress. The Republican's political instinct is to pander to his constituency's fringes - even when the situation demands statesmanship and problem-solving.

After a turbulent term in Congress, following a contentious 16 years in the Legislature, we're convinced Sali is unable or unwilling to change. Democratic candidate Walt Minnick has the intelligence, the temperament and the rich life experience needed to change the tone of the dialogue. Minnick is best suited to represent Idaho in a time of economic tumult and global uncertainty, and earns our endorsement in the Nov. 4 election.

MD-01: Democratic candidate Frank Kratovil is surging in his own internal polling:

Garin Hart Yang for Frank Kratovil. 10/7-8. Likely voters. MoE 4.9% (4/23-24 numbers)

Kratovil (D) 43 (34)
Harris (R) 41 (43)

Kratovil has been buoyed by the support of the district's former moderate Republican Rep, Wayne Gilchrest (who has also endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for the presidency).